2.4 Accountability

Anyone who is in the privileged position of being able to provide assistance to someone who needs it can be said to be in a position of power or authority over that person. As a consequence of having such authority, the social worker is said to have professional accountability for their actions and has to account for them.

Accountability can be defined as a commitment to working in an open way so that actions taken can be justified to others. This could be described as being obliged to give an explanation or being held to account for one’s actions or inactions. Social workers have to act within the law and the policies and procedures derived from it. Social workers can also be called upon to justify their actions to courts, as well as to service users and carers, their employer and their regulator.

Service users also have the right to complain and, if necessary, to take legal action in the interests of accountability. Accountability is regularly talked about in the context of responsibility, but where we talk about responsibility we are often then talking about ‘blame’. Talking about accountability and responsibility in the same conversation can therefore lead to accountability being viewed by social workers as negative and burdensome.